DePaul University

CHICAGO – With summer break over half complete, DePaul head volleyball coach Amy Hardison unveiled the team's 2009 slate.  The Blue Demons are scheduled to play 15 home matches including two home tournaments, and face four teams that participated in the NCAA Tournament.

The Blue Demons open the season with the UCF Tournament on Aug. 28-29 in Orlando, Fla.  DePaul squares off against Florida Atlantic on Friday.  On Saturday, the team pairs off with North Florida in the morning before closing the weekend against tournament-host Central Florida.

The following weekend the Blue Demons remain in Lincoln Park to make their McGrath Arena debut on Sept 4-5, hosting the DePaul Challenge.  DePaul welcomes Western Illinois, Loyola-Chicago, and 2008 NCAA Tournament participant Clemson for a  two-day round robin style tournament.

The Blue Demons travel south to North Carolina to tangle with North Carolina State, Dartmouth, Xavier, and George Mason in the N.C. State Classic on Sept. 18-19.  DePaul then closes out its tournament portion of the season by hosting the DePaul Invitational featuring guests from Eastern Michigan, Western Kentucky, and Sacramento State on Sept. 18-19.  Western Kentucky was knocked out of the NCAA Tournament last season by BIG EAST Conference rival Cincinnati in the first round.

Before opening the conference slate, DePaul plays a non-conference away match with Northern Illinois on Sept. 22 before hitting the road with BIG EAST matches at St. John’s and Connecticut.  The Blue Demons square off against the Red Storm on Sept. 25 before a Sept. 27 match-up with the Huskies.

The month of October begins with a three-match home stand against BIG EAST foes Villanova, Louisville, and Cincinnati.  The Blue Demons go up against the Wildcats on Oct. 2.  The following weekend, DePaul gears up for BIG EAST Tournament Champion Louisville on Friday before going up against regular-season champion Cincinnati on Sunday.

The Blue Demons travel to West Virginia and Pittsburgh on Oct. 16 and Oct. 18, respectively, before returning to McGrath Arena to host four consecutive matches.  Notre Dame makes the short trip to Chicago on Oct. 23, while cross-town rival UIC comes to Lincoln Park on Oct. 27.  The weekend welcomes Rutgers on Saturday, before DePaul tangles with Seton Hall on Sunday.

On Nov. 6 the Blue Demons enter their final regular-season road trip, traveling east to take on Syracuse.  Two days later, they pair up with Marquette in Milwaukee, Wis.

The regular season comes to a close on Nov. 13 and No. 15 when DePaul welcomes USF and Georgetown, respectively, for the final two conference matches.

The BIG EAST Championship is scheduled for Nov. 20-22 at Louisville.  The league's top eight teams compete for the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Blue Demons' young roster includes seven underclassmen, four juniors and only one senior in outside hitter Sarah Cullen.  Cullen finished her junior campaign with 415 kills and 312 digs.  Starting setter Christy Landschoot enters her junior year with a career total of 2196 assists, while middle blocker Kate Letcher added a .203 attack percentage in 2008.